INTRODUCTION Physicians encounter a large number of questions during patient care. Therefore, finding high-quality evidence provides a good opportunity to improve patient care and continue learning. OBJECTIVES The present study aims to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the physicians' clinical information-seeking behavior. METHODS A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/blu-667.html The Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Emerald, Wiley Online Library, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases were systematically searched based on the de?ned criteria. The inclusion criteria were the original articles in the context of patient care and full-text articles published in English from 2002 to 2017. The articles were reviewed, selected, and analyzed in group discussions. RESULTS Seventy-three articles met the study criteria. Therapy, diagnosis, and epidemiology ranked the highest ones among physicians' information needs. The mean frequency of questions raised during patient ring the fact that they often refer to colleagues, Internet websites, and databases to find answers, the quality of information should be improved by evaluating the physicians' information-seeking behavior in the first stage, and developing information technology in a point-of-care environment, integrating EHR systems to communicate with colleagues, and accessing databases in the second stage. Stigma towards psychiatry, a debilitating phenomenon worldwide, is likely to have engendered the longstanding lack of recruitment into psychiatry in Sri Lanka (SL). However, as recent expansion of the undergraduate training in psychiatry in SL may have instigated favorable changes in students' attitudes, we assessed the attitudes of students regarding psychiatry by administering Attitude towards psychiatry-30 (ATP-30) scale to final-year medical students in nine medical schools in SL. This 30-item questionnaire covers eight domains of psychiatry and is rated on a Likert scale, producing a total score out of 150. A multiple linear regression was performed to investigate associated factors. A total of 743 fin. l-year students participated. Of them, 54 % were male. The mean attitude score was 107.7 (SD = 12.3) and 92.2 % showed an overall "positive" attitude. 22.2 % of students considered psychiatry as a potential future career. Students with more than one month of clinical exposure to psychiatry showed a better attitude compared to those with shorter exposure. Female gender and the presence of a close person with mental illness were also associated with better attitudes and career interest. The generally positive attitude towards psychiatry among medical students may be explained, at least partly, by recent advances in undergraduate psychiatry education in SL. Longer clinical exposure to psychiatry being associated with better attitudes indicates the need to ensure adequate duration of clinical training in psychiatry in the undergraduate curriculum. BACKGROUND Early interventions are important for improving outcome in autism. However, the diagnosis of autism is often delayed for 3-4 years, which leads to missed opportunities to initiate early intensive behavioural interventions, thus jeopardizing its prognosis. The lack of knowledge among healthcare workers about the features of autism is postulated to be the main reason for this delay. METHODOLOGY A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among the PHMs in the Colombo and Kalutara districts of the Western Province, Sri Lanka. A specifically designed self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information about the socio-demographic details. The knowledge about the signs and symptoms and common comorbidities of ASD were assessed using the "Knowledge about Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW) Questionnaire". RESULTS Out of 406 participants, 56.9 % (n = 231) were from the Colombo District. The mean knowledge of the participants on the "Knowledge about Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW) Questionnaire" was 13.23/19 (SD = 2.647). The knowledge was significantly higher in those who had participated in training programmes on autism (p less then 0.01) and in those who have had contact with a child with autism (p less then 0.05). Of the participants, 17.2 % (n = 70) believed that autism could be completely cured. 43.6 % and 42.2 % believed that poor attention from parents and parental conflicts during pregnancy and early childhood caused autism in children respectively. CONCLUSION The knowledge of PHMs on autism is inadequate, with regard to the comorbidities, aetiology and treatment options. In service programmes are useful in improving the knowledge of PHMs on autism. BACKGROUND AND AIMS Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is chronic conditions with devastating multi-systemic complication and may be associated with severe form of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis in order to investigate the association between DM and poor outcome in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. METHODS Systematic literature search was performed from several electronic databases on subjects that assess DM and outcome in COVID-19 pneumonia. The outcome of interest was composite poor outcome, including mortality, severe COVID-19, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), need for intensive care unit (ICU) care, and disease progression. RESULTS There were a total of 6452 patients from 30 studies. Meta-analysis showed that DM was associated with composite poor outcome (RR 2.38 [1.88, 3.03], p&nbsp; less then &nbsp;0.001; I2 62%) and its subgroup which comprised of mortality (RR 2.12 [1.44, 3.11], p&nbsp; less then &nbsp;0.001; I2 72%), severe COVID-19 (RR 2.45 [1.79, 3.35], p&nbsp; less then &nbsp;0.001; I2 45%), ARDS (RR 4.64 [1.86, 11.58], p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.001; I2 9%), and disease progression (RR 3.31 [1.08, 10.14], p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.04; I2 0%). Meta-regression showed that the association with composite poor outcome was influenced by age (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.003) and hypertension (p&nbsp; less then &nbsp;0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that the association was weaker in studies with median age ?55 years-old (RR 1.92) compared to less then 55 years-old (RR 3.48), and in prevalence of hypertension ?25% (RR 1.93) compared to less then 25% (RR 3.06). Subgroup analysis on median age less then 55 years-old and prevalence of hypertension less then 25% showed strong association (RR 3.33) CONCLUSION DM was associated with mortality, severe COVID-19, ARDS, and disease progression in patients with COVID-19.